The Magician of Tiger Castle Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, A History of Tigers in Captivity in Europe and our BookBrowse Review of The Magician of Tiger Castle.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The book opens with Anatole in the present day, having recently gone on a tour of Tiger Castle, but most of the book takes place five hundred years in the past. Why do you think the author included the first chapter? What does it convey that would be lost if the novel just began with chapter 2?
2. Anatole sees himself as a dignified, brilliant, and much underappreciated magician/physician/scientist. How much of that is true, and how much is self-delusion and boastfulness?
3. Princess Tullia is described as "asymmetrical," with one brown eye and the other blue. Why do you think Anatole attributes different emotions or feelings to Tullia's brown eye versus her blue eye?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Ace Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.